


A Cold Nuka-Cola and a Bed to Sleep in

by CocacolaSarge



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout - Fandom, Fallout 3
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, M/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22547683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CocacolaSarge/pseuds/CocacolaSarge
Summary: This story follows Charon, the designated dumbass, and his new employer, a small bundle of raw chaotic energy.
Relationships: Charon (Fallout)/Female Lone Wanderer, Irving Gallows/Female Lone Wanderer
Comments: 17
Kudos: 59





	1. Galaxy News Radio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Einscwrw is pronounced eyens-kir-rew  
> If you're here just for smut; welcome! Smut starts at chapter eight :)
> 
> Plus here's a visual ref incase anyone wants it https://66.media.tumblr.com/13fbfa9200991764c6badd5def5426eb/149d0dc02e5ce04a-2b/s1280x1920/6f7280ae120fd356b27338ccbd71df82471c8249.png

Charon was standing in the ninth circle, just like normal, listening to Three Dog drone on about the “hero of the wastes” or whatever the fuck, when this new smoothskin walks in. She was shorter than usual and stocky, with pale skin, but she looked strong. She was wearing some merc outfit and had strawberry hair that was cut short. She looked healthier and less trodden on by the wasteland than most people, like she had just come up from one of those cushy vaults.

The girl looked around, taking in the bar. She made direct eye contact with Charon before walking hesitantly up to Azrukhul and speaking with him. She didn’t smile, and looked very out of place. She handed a large sum of caps to Azrukhul, who grinned and scooped them up, the greedy bastard. He then glanced at Charon and said something to the girl. 

She said something back and stood up to approach Charon. She had to look far up to meet his eye. “Talk to-” Charon began to speak before she interrupted him. 

“Slow down there, I have good news.” She looked at him without any emotion on her face. “I’m your new employer.” 

Charon was momentarily taken aback before realising what this meant. ‘Excellent’ he thought,‘Now I can kill that greedy sonuvabitch without being held back by my contract’.

“Please wait here. I must take care of something,” Charon said. The girl nodded and stepped aside. Charon walked over to Azrukhul, heart racing with anticipation. “Azrukhul,” he said, “I am told that I am no longer in your service.” 

“That's right, Charon” Azrukhul’s slimy, grough voice was enough to make anyone’s ears bleed. And Charon hated how he said his name. ‘Sharon.’ It’s Charon. “Have you come to say goodbye?” 

“Yes” Charon said and pulled out his gun. He shot him. It was liberating. He shot him again. Blood was everywhere and the people were yelling. His heart is racing and he couldn’t help but grin. Remembering he must serve his new boss, Charon quickly schooled his features and turned to face her. “Alright, lets go.” he said.

“Well geez we can’t just leave without looting him” The girl said. Charon was surprised at her lack of empathy. She didn’t even question the brutal act, she just strolled over to the corpse and started looting.

As she did this Charon heard some of the residents talking. “I thought Charon liked Azrukhul.” Well you thought wrong, friend. Charon supposed this new boss will be much calmer than Azrukhul. He thought he would enjoy her company.

The two walked out of the bar after the girl took everything of value and failed to hack into Azrukhul’s terminal. ‘She must not be very smart’, Charon reasoned, eyeing the back of her head. The girl suddenly turned around to look at Charon. “You’re the type to skip formalities, I suppose?” Charon grunted in response. “Well you’re going to need to know a bit about me if we’re going to be traveling together.” She opened the door to the mall and held pushed it behind her to let Charon slip through after her. “Feel free to ask any questions.”

When Charon said nothing the girl glanced behind at him and cleared her throat. “My name is Einscwrw. You can call me Eins if you want.” Charon blinked down at her. That was a name he hadn’t heard before. “It’s a welsh word that means insurrection,” The girl, Eins, continued. “My father is Welsh. I’m out here looking for him. I found a lead but I need to do a job before I can get any information out of him.” 

They arrived at the Museum of Technology, stepping inside, a super mutant jumped up at the intrusion. Charon reached for his shotgun, but before he could touch it, a couple well placed bullets sent the brute reeling backwards. Charon looked over at Eins, who was already holstering her weapon. He sneered. Why had she bought his contract if she needed no protection. The two started off again, Charon following his boss’s lead.

~~~

“Of course” Eins mumbled. Her pipboy pointed to an area that was blocked off by rubble. The only way to reach it was through a vault-tech exhibit. She ground her teeth, determined not to go through there. She was sick of the vault. What they did. What their morals were. Eins jumped up on the pile of rubble, trying to maneuver her way over the clumps of concrete. 

For about five minutes she struggled, before Charon appeared in front of her. He must’ve gone through the vault. Eins grunted and begrudgingly accepted the hand he offered. He hauled her over and they continued the search. 

‘Who is this guy?’ Eins thought to herself, glancing at the tall mass of scarred flesh behind her. ‘What is he thinking?’ Charon’s face was blank and unreadable. As if Eins could read faces anyway. She wasn’t an “intelligence” person, per say. Eins was better at fucking shit up physically rather than psycologically. 

Killing a few more super mutants, the two finally made it to the Virgo II. Eins attempted to reach up and grab the plate but she was too short to reach it. Stepping back, she huffed and then looked at Charon. “Think you can grab that?” She asked.

In response, Charon reached up with one hand and plucked the disk off its scaffolding. “Thanks,” Eins took the disc and backtracked towards the exit. 

As they walked towards the Washington monument, Eins looked back at Charon again. “Will you tell me a bit about yourself?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Charon sighed and spoke for the first time since they left the ninth circle. “I do not understand why you want to know about me. I am a guard, not an entertainment source.” 

Eins rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re going to presumably be traveling together. I’d like to get to know who I’m fighting with, ya dig?” Charon grunted in response. “So how about we start simple or something. What’s your favorite type of nuka-cola?” Eins asked.

~~~

‘My favorite nuka-cola flavor?’ Charon blinked. He had never really thought about it. He always thought of himself as an item, a servant. He never had the luxury of having a “favorite.” “I don’t know. I never thought about it.” he grunted.

Eins looked back at him and grinned. “Well I suppose we’ll have to try them all, hm?” 

“That is not necessary,” Charon interjected. 

“Yes, well, I do want an excuse to drink some cola, so.” Eins shrugged and returned her eyes to the road. She was blunt. However there was a nagging voice in Charon’s head telling him there was something about her that wouldn’t be so simple….

“Here we are,” Eins stopped abruptly at the gate of the monument. She nodded to the brotherhood guards and tapped in the password to the gate terminal. The door opened and Charon followed her inside. “Wait here by the radio, I’ll head on up and install the disk. I don’t think that elevator can hold us both.” Charon obliged and stood next to a radio that was playing GNR. 

The dj, Three Dog, was talking about the “protector of the wastes” or whatever. Azrakhul always kept GNR on so Charon knew a fair deal about the vault dweller, and from what he’s heard, he did not like her. She sounded uptight and orthodox. Charon was glad he had never had the misfortune of meeting her. 

A few minutes later, Three Dog came on the radio again. Live this time. “People of the Capital Wasteland, you can HEAR MEEEE!!!! Yeee haaaaw!!! You can't stop the signal, baby!” Three Dog must’ve been the one who sent Eins on the quest to snatch that disc. Looks like she attached it successfully. 

Three dog said some other stuff that Charon was only half listening to when something caught his attention. “Because of the kid from Vault 101, that's how! That gal actually managed to repair our-” ‘Oh no…’ Charon connected the dots. Eins’s fluffier form and pale skin was because of the vault. Her father must’ve been the vault dweller that had crawled up weeks before. She must be that protector that Three Dog was talking about. The one Charon assumed would be uptight and annoying. 

The doors to the monument opened and Eins stepped out. “Aight, let’s go” she said. Charon obediently followed, staring at the back of Eins’s shaggy hair. Charon hoped his assumptions about the vault kid were wrong. This would be an unbearable employment otherwise….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats a- uhhhhh thick oof my boiyo hath gotten himself into


	2. Megaton

“This is Megaton.” Eins told Charon as the two approached the giant metal gates. After retrieving and installing the new disc for GNR, the pair checked in with Three Dog, who told them that Eins’s father headed over to Rivet City. 

Eins had suggested that they head back home before tackling that task. Charon showed no indication that he had heard her. He was supposed to follow orders, and if his employer wished to go home, he would follow. 

It wasn’t really that simple, though. Eins kept asking Charon’s opinion on things and checking in with him to be sure he was alright. It was starting to get on his nerves…

Eins pushed open the heavy doors to Megaton and slipped inside. ‘Definitely uptight’ Charon thought, observing how she held herself; stiff and on guard, even in the safety of a settlement. ‘I should know better’ Charon thought. ‘No settlement is safe’

Eins lead the way to the left of the entrance, hopping over a pipe in the process. “This is my home, mind the carnage” She said opening a door to the first building they came across. Charon looked around after threading his way past a Mr. Handy robot. The only “carnage” he could see were objects strewn every which way. A blood bag on the table, a crumpled pack of cigs on a shelf, a half empty bottle of nuka cola next to a chair, a fat man leaning against dented lockers, etc.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll clear out the room upstairs for you to sleep in. We can stop by Craterside Supply for a bed and some other creature comforts.” Eins kicked aside some scrap metal and made her way up the stairs. Charon followed, looking around. There was a workbench in one corner, with spare parts strewn everywhere, and a nuka cola machine against the opposite wall. 

Peering into the room Eins was shuffling around in, Charon saw her gathering up junk. She emerged with an armful of whiskey bottles, ash trays, scrap metal, and ruined books. Eins plopped them down on the floor and started sorting them. Charon stood by awkwardly. 

“You can go to that room and start making it your own if you’d like.” Eins glanced up at him, “That’s where you’ll be sleeping, anyway” 

Charon turned and made his way into the room. There was a set of shelves against one wall and a motorcycle against the other. “If you don’t want the bike, I’ll take it for parts” Eins called out from the hallway. Charon glanced at it, and decided that he would have no use for the object. He grabbed the bike and dragged it out to the hallway.

Charon returned to the room and sat down against the wall, listening as Eins jumbled around with her junk. He sighed and reached into his satchel, pulling out his only belongings. A knife, a pack of cigs, some shotgun shells, a box of salisbury steak, two bottles of dirty water, and an old rag. He had his shotgun too, of course, but that wouldn’t fit in his bag. 

Charon looked at the meager pile of supplies in front of him and sighed. He picked up the steak and one of the bottles of water and set them on one of the shelves. The rest he’d keep on him.

Eins poked her head in and peered curiously at the pathetic display before switching her gaze back to Charon. “Well, we should head over to Moira’s if we want to get you a bed before they close. Sound good to you?” Charon grunted in response and grabbed his shotgun. “Oh you, don't need that. We’re just going across the way.” Eins seemed surprised.

“Better safe than sorry,” Charon grumbled, shouldering his gun. Eins shrugged and led the way down stairs.

~~~

“Hey Moira,” Eins called, pushing open the door to craterside. The strong smell of gun solvent crashed over her before she was immediately grabbed by a mousey woman with dark red hair and freckles. 

“How ARE those hot little potatoes?” Moira exclaimed, clasping Eins’s sunburnt shoulders. “Have you brought me a present? Ooh! Who’s this?” Moira spotted Charon and scuttled over to examine him. 

Eins saw Charon stiffen as the small woman poked at him, asking him questions, and cleared her throat. “Moira, this is Charon. I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to let you analise him later on, but right now we have some stuff to do.” 

“Oh, of course! What’s up?” Moira turned back to Eins, one hand still grasping Charon’s sleeve.

“We’re here for some furniture, specifically a bed, chair, and a desk.” Eins said hopping up on the counter. 

“Sure thing! I’ll have Gale help you move ‘em over!” Moira gestured at the merc standing guard against the wall. “What would you like?”

~~~

After the furniture had been purchased and moved into Charon’s room, Eins suggested that they figure out what kind of nuka-cola Charon likes best.

Charon sat at the big wooden table in the middle of the floor and waited as Eins rooted through her fridge. “We’ve got original, quantum, cherry, orange, and dark.” Eins said scooping two of each into her arms and plopping them down on the table. “Which should we try first?”

Charon picked up the bottle that had rolled closest to him and inspected it. Nuka-cola quantum. Charon had seen them around before, but had never tried one, due to how valuable they were. Yet here he was, being encouraged to drink it by his employer. Charon shook his head and popped the bottle open.

The soda was sweet. Overwhelmingly sweet. It was almost gross. Aside from the sweetness, Charon tasted blue raz and pomegranate. It was good, and had an okay aftertaste that didn’t rot at the top of your mouth. 

Once all the sodas were tasted, Eins grinned and looked at Charon. “So, which one do you like best? My favorite is the quantum.”

Charon thought about it for a bit before answering. “I liked the Nuka-cola dark,” he said. 

“Haha I should've guessed. You don’t seem like the type that likes sugary things,” Eins leaned forward. She seemed to be in a better mood. Her eyes crinkled with smiles and she no longer looked as pensive.

Charon was a bit unnerved at this sudden change. The cold gal who had bought his contract had melted into someone more cheerful and fluffy. “Imma get rid of these bottles, feel free to do whatever,” she said, scooping them into her arms and marching off towards the door. 

Charon got up and walked upstairs to his room. His bed was fashioned with some plain sheets and a pillow, and his shotgun lay on his desk. Charon collapsed on the bed after stripping off his armor and throwing it on a chair. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.

Charon dreamt that he was standing naked in the middle of a lake. At his right was a floating corpse, face down in the water, and on his left was a small, burned book. Picking it up, he saw there was a jumble of letters on the cover. “Mae mwy” it read. 

Before he could open the book, however, Charon was woken up by the sound of a door opening. Sitting bolt upright, he snatched his shotgun and slipped into the hallway. Peering around, he didn’t see anything. 

Deciding to check up on his employer, Charon pushed open the door to her bedroom and his heart stopped in his chest. Einscwrw was gone. Sprinting down the stairs, Charon wheeled around, searching for his employer. 

When he found the house empty, Charon barreled through the front door, and heard a yelp of surprise. Eins was on the floor by a table. She had fallen out of her chair. 

Charon sighed and lowered his shotgun. She was fine, it was all fine, no one was hurt. Eins was looking at Charon with confused and concerned eyes. “I went to check on you, and you were missing,” he explained. 

“Oh, sorry” Eins picked herself up and righted her chair. “I was just doing some repairs. I like being outside...” Charon glanced at the table she had been sitting at. There was a .44 magnum in pieces and an empty nuka-cola bottle resting on the surface. “Uh, I’ll make sure to leave a note next time.” Eins cautiously sat down again. 

Charon grunted “You should get some rest if we’re going to be heading out again soon.” 

Eins laughed, “I guess caffeine works differently on ghouls than on humans. I came out here cause I couldn’t sleep.” 

“I see. Should we wait another day before heading out?” 

“Yeah, that’ll be a good idea. Rivet city is a tad far away.” Eins swiftly reassembled the magnum and got up, shuffling past Charon back into the house. Charon followed, lazily. 

“I’ll try to get some sleep, you should too.” Eins called over her shoulder. Charon didn’t respond, instead heading back to his room and lying down again. 

Except this time, he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about what would happen if the goody two shoes died. He’d have to tell someone, who would probably be distressed at the loss of their protector. They might even blame him. Charon would have to deal with all of Eins’s stuff and then he’d have to find a new employer.

He told himself this was the reason he was so worried about her, and not because she treated him like a human being. Charon drifted to sleep, reciting his contract to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mae mwy is welsh, for anyone who's wondering


	3. Rivet City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer Chapter for yall this time, I was gonna do the whole of Rivet City but decided against it.

Charon and Eins headed out to Rivet city a day later than planned, because of the unfortunate effects of Nuka-cola. Each of them had a pack with supplies in it. Ten stimpacks, three bottles of water (dirty for Charon, clean for Eins), one nuka cola, some boxed food, a range weapon of choice, ammo, and a combat knife. 

Charon had seen Eins slip some other things into her bag out of the corner of his eye, but decided not to question it. They left Megaton at around 4:30 in the morning, Charon still rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Eins seemed wide awake though, once again stiff, alert, and stoney. 

They made their way down to the river and walked along the bank, fighting off more than their fair share of super mutants and raiders. By the time they reached Gramma Sparkle’s, most of their stimpacks were gone. Eins did some trading with Gramma and then the two completed the final stretch of their journey.

As they marched up the metal ramp to Rivet city a beggar rasped out “Please… do you have any water?”

Eins jumped, not seeing him at first, before pity filled her eyes. “Will any water do,” she asked, already reaching in her bag.

“I tried drinking that irradiated stuff, but my body just throws it up. Please… if you have any…”

“Here,” Eins grabbed one of her bottles. Charon started to object, but decided against it. It was his employer’s decision what to do with the water. 

“Are you sure? I have nothing to offer in return…” the beggar stared longingly at the water.

“I’m sure,” Eins pushed the bottle into his hand and turned towards the intercom. She pressed the button to speak, but the giant bridge was already being extended towards them.

Eins adjusted her bag and stepped onto the rickety metal. Walking forwards, Charon glanced at the two guards stationed at the entrance to the boat. One of them stepped forwards, stopping Eins. “Hold it right there, state your business in Rivet City.”

“I’m looking for my father.” Eins answered calmly, although Charon could tell she was slightly irritated. 

“And who might your father be? If he lives on this boat, I know him,” the guard raised an eyebrow.

“He doesn’t live here, he came to see Dr. Li.”

“Dr. Li, eh? Well then I guess you’d have to ask Dr. Li for more information.” The guard holstered his weapon. “Go on up then, but keep your nose clean, you hear me?” 

Eins nodded and began walking again as Charon followed at her heels. The two walked through the heavy door labeled “marketplace” and was greeted with the sight of many booths selling various items. 

The smell of grilled mirelurk meat lingered in the air and the sound of chatter hung lightly like fog. Charon stood, admiring it all, before he noticed Eins had moved on. Hurrying after her, he picked up on some whispers amongst the vendors and shoppers. “What is that?” and “They’re letting ghouls on the ship now?” rang in Charon’s ears. He darkened his gaze and glared and some of the nearby mutterers. That shut them up.

Eins marched past all the vendors and straight towards a door on the opposite side of the room labeled “midship deck.” She was glancing at her pipboy and Charon guessed it was giving her directions. 

The two reached the door and Eins was already grasping the giant metal handle before it swung open on its own, slamming into her. Charon immediately grasped his shotgun, snapping back to guard mode. 

A tall and skeletally thin woman raised an eyebrow at Eins, whose nose was bleeding from the impact. “Watch where the fuck you’re going, moron,” the woman snapped. She had white, curly hair that was black at the roots and pulled into a bun. Her face was long and angular, with pale skin. She was holding a stack of books and holotapes. 

The thing Charon noticed first, however, were her eyes. They were bright green, like Eins’s were, and thin. Growling Charon squared his shoulders at the woman. She looked at him, before grunting, “Move, corpse.”

“Hold on, you swung that door into us!” Eins accused. 

“Tough luck, I have shit to do,” the woman growled and marched off. Eins and Charon watched her go in shock. 

“Sorry ‘bout her,” a man stepped out of the doorway. He looked very similar to the woman, except his skin was darker, and his eyes were brown. His hair was in a mohawk and he wore many piercings on his ears. “She’s my sister, and an absolute ass half the time.” 

Eins stared at him, blood still flowing from her nose. The man cleared his throat, “My name’s Arizona, that was Karrie,” he held out his hand. 

Eins took it hesitantly “Einscwrw.” 

“That’s a mouthful,” Arizona laughed. “Who’s your friend?”

“That’s Charon. Pleasure to meet you.” she spoke.

“Sharon, huh?” Arizona grinned. “Y’all’ve got some unusual names.” Charon growled and Arizona held up his hands. “No offense, man, I’ve just never met anyone with names quite like that.”

The pale woman reappeared, “Yo, Arizona” she growled, “Let’s go.” 

“Hold on, Karma, you nearly broke this gal’s nose.” Arizona raised his eyebrows at his sister, who grumbled and pulled out a stimpack. Thrusting it into Eins’s hands, she strode off again with Arizona at her heels.

Eins shook her head, “People nowadays, right?” She grinned at charon, blood still dripping down her face and onto a puddle at her feet. 

Charon stripped off his armor and hoisted his overshirt over his head, thrusting it into Eins’s hands. “Stop the bleeding,” he growled. 

Eins looked at the shirt and then back at Charon. “You sure?” She raised an eyebrow. Charon grunted and grabbed his stuff. “Nope,” Eins flung her shirt back at him. “Put that back on, I know you only have one.” 

She shrugged off her jacket and took off the black tank she wore under it, pressing it to her face and returning the jacket back to her body. Charon was now acutely aware of the stares Eins was attracting. Tugging his shirt back on, he ushered her through the hallway.

She soon picked up the pace herself and was marching towards the science lab. Charon’s thoughts drifted back to the previous scene. Eins had just casually taken off her shirt, exposing her body to the whole marketplace. His face reddened thinking about it.

~~~

After winding through the confusing halls, Eins had finally found the science lab. She pushed open the heavy door, letting it slam behind her and Charon. Making her way down the steps, she scanned the room for Dr. Li. Spotting a woman who matched the image on her pipboy, Eins approached, and tapped her on the shoulder.

“How many times do I have to tell you that this area is off lim-” Dr. Li stopped mid sentence when she turned around and saw Eins. “I… It’s you… My God… you look so much like her…your mother...”

Eins cleared her throat, “Uh, yeah, anyway, I’m looking for my dad…” 

“Oh, I’m afraid you missed him…” Dr. Li still looked shocked at the arrival of James’s daughter.

“Cool, where did he go” Eins was uncomfortable, not knowing how to deal with situations like this. 

“He went to the old lab… in the Jefferson memorial”

“Alright, thanks” Eins turned to go. She punched the coordinates into her pipboy and sighed. So close. She’s been so close so many times. “C’mon, Charon, lets go to this dang memorial”

“Will we be traveling at night?” Charon asked?

“What? No, why?” Eins turned to face him. 

“It’s nine o’clock, right now. The sun is down,”

“Of course it is,” Eins ran a hand through her messy hair. “Aight, well we should probably get us a room.” They trudged up to the midship deck and through the winding halls to the stairwell, asking for directions along the way.

They finally reached the Weatherly hotel and Eins approached the Mr. Handy manning the desk. “Hey, uh can I get a room?”

“Of course, that will be 120 caps!” he replied, cheerfully.

“Here,” Eins handed over a small pile, before hesitating, “does the room have two beds?”

“It does not,”

“Can I get two rooms, then?”

“I regret to inform you that we only have one open room at this time,”

“Oh, alright” Eins grabbed the key that the Mr. Handy gave her, “Thank you,”

“You’re welcome! Your room will be the first door on your left,” the Mr. Handy turned back to his terminal. 

Eins walked out of the office and followed the given directions to her room. Unlocking the door, she looked over her shoulder at Charon, who, was again, showing no emotion. “So, what do you want to do,” she asked.

“About what?” Charon blinked down at her.

“About the bed.” 

“I will stay awake while you rest,”

“What? No!”

“I’m used to not sleeping for days at a time, it’s alright.”

“Well we both need rest, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“I can sleep on the floor.”

“Also no. Lying on the floor is bad for your spine.”

“What do you propose?”

“Well, we could sleep in shifts, but that wouldn’t give us enough rest…” Eins furrowed her brow before coughing “...or we could share the bed. It’s big enough for the both of us.”

“You are my employer, and I will do as you wish.” Charon peered down at her.

“That’s no way to think, Charon,” Eins said, pointedly, “You should be treated like a human being with free will.” She turned into the room and shrugged off her backpack.

~~~

‘Annoying’ Charon thought. He was irked at the way Eins treated him as fragile. “I’m not made of snow” he grumbled to himself. He was a six and a half foot tall, 200 lb mass of muscle and fury. He could handle sleeping on the floor for one night, it’s not like they find comfy beds out in the wastes whenever they need to rest up. 

However, Eins was his employer, and he would do as she asked, even if he wasn’t happy about it. Charon began to strip off his armor to get ready for sleep, but was startled at a ball of something hit him in the shoulder. Wheeling around, he saw a bundle of cloth on the floor. “I grabbed them from home before we left and forgot to give them to you,” Eins looked up from rooting through her bag. “They should fit.”

Charon picked up the bundle and examined it. There was a grey t-shirt and some black sweatpants. He glanced up at Eins, who was stripping off her shirt. Charon looked down again, blushing. Watching women undress was never something a man should do, his mother had taught him. He sighed at the thought of his mother. He missed her. 

Turning his back to Eins, Charon undressed and pulled on the clothes she had thrown at him. They fit well, although a little tight around his chest. Organizing his bag and armor in the far corner of the room, Charon glanced back at Eins. She was done getting dressed and was sitting on the edge of the bed, cleaning under her nails with a knife. 

~~~

If Eins was being honest she didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as Charon, not because he was a guy and she was a gal, but because he frightened her to no end. She couldn’t help but imagine his hands closing around her throat and squeezing the life out of her, or suddenly waking up to a knife in her gut. Eins knew he wouldn’t hurt her, the first night in Megaton proved that, but her primal instincts told her to be on guard. 

She finished cleaning her nails and put her knife, Occam’s razor, under her pillow. Swinging her feet up onto the bed, she noticed Charon looking at her curiously. As soon as he caught her eye, however, he turned away and finished doing whatever it was that he was doing. Eins sighed and flopped down on the bed, slinging an arm over her eyes. Soon afterwards she noticed a weight settle down on the bed beside her. Glancing from under her arm, she saw Charon laying stiffly on her right.

Sighing, Eins wiggled under the covers and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karma and Arizona are original characters of mine. They're my bad and neutral karma characters, and I wanted to include them in the story somehow. You'll learn more about them later.


	4. The Jefferson Memorial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while to publish, I had a bit of blockage with my writing.

‘Of course’ Charon thought to himself ‘Of course there’s only one bed.’ He was still awake, hours after Eins had turned off the light. He felt too awkward to sleep, what with a woman laying beside him. He felt her heat and heard her soft, sleepy breaths on his left. 

Closing his eyes to try and summon the fickle deity of sleep, Charon exhaled and relaxed his muscles, only to be interrupted by a disturbance next to him. Glancing over at Eins, he saw her shaking slightly. She was mumbling in her sleep, muttering about something.

Propping himself up on one elbow, he peered at the smoothskin. Her mumbles were getting clearer and Charon could make out bits of what she was saying. “Stop! Get away!” and “The ghosts...,” rang through his head. What was she dreaming about? Charon jolted back when Eins suddenly shot bolt upright with her knife in her hand. “Dad!” 

Eins’s breaths were heavy, slowly returning back to a normal pace. Tears were leaking out of her eyes. Lowering her knife with a shaky arm, she looked to her right at Charon, who was still in a defensive position halfway off the bed. “Sorry,” she mumbled “nightmare.”

“Are you alright?” Charon hoisted himself back up on the bed.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a bit shook up,” The two looked at eachother. Charon noticed a bit of fear in his employer’s eyes. Was she afraid of him? Or was it just the nightmare?

“Are you… scared of me?” he asked tentatively. 

“Um…” Eins broke eye contact, “a bit...” Charon was silent. Makes sense that she would be afraid of him. He was a ghoul. A walking corpse. A crime against God. He could rape her, kill her, or maybe both. He never would of course, his morals and contract prevented that, but how would she know? He had no way to prove it to her. 

“Sorry,” was all he could bring himself to say. 

“No… it’s just paranoia…” Eins rubbed her arms and lay down again, sniffling. “Not your fault.” They lay in silence for a while, staring at the ceiling. “I’m cold” Eins quietly broke the silence. Charon hesitated for a moment, before turning and wrapping himself around Eins, pulling her into him. She stiffened, but soon relaxed and adjusted herself more comfortably against Charon. 

‘Fuck…’ Charon thought to himself when he realised what he did. He had acted on impulse, holding Eins like he used to hold his sister when she had a nightmare. He couldn’t move now though, the act was already over with, and Eins was snuggled sleepily in his arms, still shaking slightly from the nightmare. Charon sighed and closed his eyes. Might as well get some sleep. 

Oddly, Charon felt safer holding Eins. She was warm and soft, a glaring contrast to himself. He had bones and muscle unprotected by skin or fat, being unable to hold any weight because of his ghoul form. Eins reminded him of his childhood, when things were nicer. Before…

Eins sneezed and Charon decided not to dwell on his past. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep. 

~~~

He again found himself naked in a lake, with the body on his right and the book on his left. Again, he reached for the book. This time, he opened it without interruption, but it was blank. Charon flipped through the tattered pages, finding nothing. Grunting and dropping the book, he turned his attention to the right. Reaching for the corpse, he turned it over and balked. It was Eins. 

At least that’s what he thought at first. The corpse wasn’t Eins’s. The hair was longer, curley, and black, and the woman was more gurthey. Feeling uneasy, Charon looked around at his surroundings. Where the book was before, there was a bobblehead. It was larger than normal and wearing a party hat. Before he could grab it though, he was woken up.

Opening his eyes and trying to blink away the sleep, he drearily took in the scene. Eins was wrapped up in one of the blankets, trapped by Charon’s body and wriggling to get out. He shifted himself to let her out of the blanket trap and she fell to the floor. “Sorry,” she laughed, “Did I wake you?”

Charon grunted and sat upright, running his hands through the remnants of his hair. Eins picked herself up and made her way over to her belongings. Charon swung his legs out of the bed and started towards his own stuff.

“I’ve got some questions” he heard Eins say. “Are you a pre-war ghoul?” 

“No,” Charon replied.

“How old are you?”

“About 100. I lost count a while ago.”

“Are you from the Brooklyn area?”

Charon turned around, “What?”

“You know, New York?”

Charon was from New York but couldn’t riddle out how on earth she knew this. “How did you know that?”

“You’ve got a Brooklyn accent. I learned about accents from an old pre-war tv show,” she said simply. 

Charon stared at her in shock before saying hesitantly,“Yes, I was raised in the area,”

“That’s pretty cool,”

Charon grunted. New York looked just like everywhere else. Broken roads and half standing buildings, brotherhood guards scattered around. He didn’t miss it. After they got dressed, the two grabbed their stuff and made their way down to the marketplace for breakfast. The other ship inhabitants were down there as well, enjoying their morning meal at Gary’s Galley. As Eins and Charon walked in, some of the residents looked up and started whispering to each other. ‘Makes sense,’ Charon figured ‘they’re probably weirded out by what happened yesterday.’

“They’re letting zombies on the ship now?”

“Hope that thing doesn’t go feral inside Rivet City,”

“Haven't seen one of them in years… forgot how bad they smell,”

Charon gritted his teeth and repeated his contract to himself, trying to remind himself of his place. Eins stopped suddenly and Charon accidently walked into her. Eins was looking dead at one of the residents. “Mind repeating that,” she asked.

The resident, who had black hair styled in an ugly bowl cut, didn’t flinch. “I said ‘it's a shame that that bitch’s been soiled by a zombie.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean,” her ears turned red. Charon suspected she already knew.

“Nobody wants a bitch who’s had a zombie cock in her,” the resident smirked. Charon took a step back. Where the hell did he get that idea from?  
He opened his mouth to speak but Eins beat him to it. “He’s my guard, you dimwit. And even if we did have that kind of… relations, I wouldn’t regret it for someone with greasy hair and a sour attitude unless he was offering caps. And there’d hafta be a lot of them. What’s your name, tool?”

The man balked “That’s none of your damn business.”

“His name is Sister,” a waitress passed by, snickering. Apparently this man isn’t very popular with the other residents.

“Sister?” Eins sneered “That’s a stupid name. How’d you get that? Cried to your mamma so often you were seen as the village sissy? Or maybe you had some fun with your own sister? That would explain-” The man’s fist crashed into Eins’s face, cutting her off. Charon jumped to attention, grabbing his shotgun. But one look at Eins and he knew to let her handle this. She had a wild chaos in her eyes. She had been picking a fight on purpose, just trying to get Sister to pull the first punch. Blood dripped down her freshly healed nose and she grinned. 

Eins quickly schooled her features before looking up again. She made eye contact with Sister as he pulled out a knife. Clearly she had hit one helluva nerve. Eins grabbed her own knife and lunged at him. Sister jumped out of the way and her blade dragged deep across his cheek. He countered and aimed for Einscwrw’s chest but she blocked it with her arm. 

The moment Charon saw the bloody cut on her bicep he was thrust into action, pulling out his shotgun and aiming at Sister. “All of you, STOP!” The three turned to see the one of the guards walking towards them. Charon recognised him from when they first entered Rivet City. “What the fuck is going on here?”

Eins straightened and holstered her knife, “He attacked me. It was self defense,” she pleaded. Feigning innocence. That was something Charon didn’t expect from her. 

“Bullshit, she started it! Was making fun of my name!” Sister cried.

“And so you attacked her? Jesus Christ, Sister, if you don't get your act together, I’ll have you kicked off the ship. And you,” he turned to Eins “If you make any more trouble I’ll kick you off too. Understand?” 

Eins nodded and Sister mumbled “Sure thing, Harkness.” He spat the name like a curse. The guard, Harkness, walked off. “Fucking bitch,” Sister grunted before sitting back down at his meal. 

Charon followed his employer as she approached the restaurant counter. “What can I get ya?” The owner, Gary, asked. 

“I’ll take two mirelurk cakes and a nuka-cola, annnnd…” she turned to Charon “What do you want?”

“Nothing” he grunted.

Eins sighed and turned back to Gary “Five mirelurk cakes and two nuka-colas please.” He turned around and started cooking them. Charon stood in silence. She didn’t have to get him anything. He didn’t want anything. ‘Stop treating me that way, dammit!’ He started grumbling to himself again, repeating his contract.

“Here you go, that’ll be 45 caps, please.” Gary handed Eins two plates and two cola bottles. She took them and rummaged around in her money bag for the caps. Placing them on the counter, she grabbed the food and walked off. Charon followed. 

Eins stopped at the wall of the market and sat down on the floor. Charon sat on her right, accepting the plate and bottle she passed him. “Sorry about all that,” she bit into one of the cakes.

“About what?” 

“About that whole situation with Sister. Must’ve been awkward for you.”

“I’m sure it was bad for you too.”

“Yeah, but more so you. That was a real douche thing he said.” Eins said, taking a sip of her cola. Charon grunted, it was a cold reminder of what people saw him as. He was used to being in the underworld, surrounded by others like him. He bit into one of the mirelurk cakes, barely tasting it. 

~~~

Some time passed and the two finished their food in silence. “Ready to go?” Eins asked. Charon grunted and they stood up and gathered their things. The Jefferson memorial wasn’t far, it was right around the corner from Rivet City. The problem was super mutants. They ran into many of them along the way and ended up seven stimpacks short. Finally, they stood at the door of the gift shop, guns drawn and breath held.

Eins eased open the door and crouched down. They had no idea what would be in the memorial so stealth would certainly be the best idea. In the middle of a long hallway they saw a super mutant. She raised her rifle, preparing to fire, but noticed that the mutant was already being fought by something. Soon after she realized this, the mutant collapsed, dead. Creeping down the hallway, she peered around the corner to see a turret armed and ready. Firing her weapon, the turret was out in one hit. 

The two crept around, clearing the memorial one mutant at a time, until the main area was safe. Time for the basement. They resumed stealth position and slunk into the back room. The smell hit like a truck, assuming Eins knew what a truck was. There was the strong scent of corpses emanating from gore bags and a mutant, feasting on the leg of some poor soul. Taking him out, they crept around, sniping at the mutants until they were all dead. Eins collected any holotapes she found and when all the mutants had been killed, the pair made their way back upstairs to clear the rotunda. 

There were three mutants in the rotunda. Charon and Eins made quick work of them. “I’m glad that’s over.” Eins stood up straight and holstered her rifle. “You okay, Charon?” When he didn’t respond, Eins looked behind her to see him slumped against a wall, one hand pressed into his abdomen. “What happened?” Eins exclaimed, though she already knew. A bullet had gotten him square in the gut.

Bullet wounds were fatal. Bullet wounds in the gut were even more fatal. There was little time to act. 

Eins ripped open her bag and began rummaging around for medical supplies. She pulled out med-x, stimpacks, bandages, and anything else she could find. “We need to clean it…” she mumbled to herself. Looking around, she noticed the water in the roundabout’s basin. Grabbing an empty bottle from the floor, Eins booked over to the small pond. She filled the bottle and scrambled back over to Charon. Lifting his hand from the wound, she trickled the water over the open area, letting the blood wash away. Before removing the armor and fabric over his stomach and rinsing it again.

Eins shrugged off her armor and pulled her shirt off over her head. She pressed the cloth onto the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. Charon winced. Eins snaked her arm around Charon’s back to see if the bullet went through. No blood. Hopefully the bullet was close to the surface. She needed to get the lead out. Injecting him with med-x, she washed her hands in the irradiated water and glanced up at Charon. “This is going to hurt,” she warned. He gave no indication that he heard her. 

Eins exhalled and plunged her fingers into the wound. Charon screamed, but Eins held him until she found the bullet. Thankfully it hadn’t been deep in. Ripping it out, she examined it, thankful that it was whole. She rinsed the wound again and reapplied her shirt. Statistics began to fill her head. 80% fatality rate for abdominal gunshot wounds. 50% involve the small bowel, 40% the colon, 30% the liver, and 25% the vascular structures. Her hands started to shake. ‘No no no, that’s bad, shaking’s bad,’ Eins thought. ‘I have to stop it.’ Before she could think better, Eins raised her arm and bit hard into her left bicep. It worked, her hands were still again.

Eins grabbed a roll of bandage and tied a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding. She then grabbed a stimpack and injected it near the wound. ‘That’ll boost the immune system a bit’ she thought. She then dressed the wound best she could and sat back. 

Charon was still, but Eins could see the ragged rise and fall of his chest. Reaching her hand up to feel his pulse, she startled when his hand grabbed her wrist. She looked at him. He glared right back. Wetting her mouth, Eins began to speak before being abruptly cut off. “Stop that,” he rasped.

“Stop what?” she whimpered, confused. 

“Stop treating me like that. Like I’m important. It’s really starting to piss me off.” 

“But I care about you.”  
He shook his head, curtly. “No you don’t. You’re lying to yourself. And to me.” Charon sighed and dropped Eins’s hand. It fell limply in her lap. The two sat there, silent. “Don’t let me die here…” Charon whispered finally. 

“I wont,” Eins responded. Without warning, Charon grabbed the collar of Eins’s undershirt and kissed her. It was brief and hard. With that, Charon’s body fell limp and he finally passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/032/425/Screen_Shot_2020-01-14_at_10.34.57_AM.jpg


	5. Fetch quest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long!

Charon was conscious for brief lapses of time. He remembered being shot and treated by Eins. He remembered Rivet City guards. He remembered burning pain in his gut. He remembered a faceless doctor and bright lights. He did not remember the kiss. 

Charon had laid asleep for days as his immune system tried to heal itself. Stimpacks and med-x were applied regularly. He dreamt of his past employers. A couple ghouls and a handful of humans, none of them kind. He dreamt of needles and water but not of the lake with the body. 

When he finally woke up, time felt like jelly and the air was thick. A layer of sleep and hormones coated his eyes and throat. His abdomen throbbed and burned. The nameless doctor was watching him, “Ah, you’re awake. It’s been a while,”

“What happened?” Charon grumbled, dragging a hand down his face. 

“You were shot. Lucky you survived. .32 caliber. Right through the small intestine. Almost hit your ureter.”

“Where’s Einscwrw?”

“The girl? She left.”

“She left?”

“She said something about finding her father.”

Charon groaned, “How long ago?”

“Oh… about two days. I think she didn’t want to see you like this. She seemed awfully worried.” The doctor approached with a syringe of med-x. “Now hold still, this should help with the pain.”

~~~

“Dad, I know you need me to unblock the pipe or something, but I have to go,” Eins tried to unlatch her father from her side.

“I know, honey, I just don’t want you to get hurt. I want to have you close by my side.”

“I’ll be fine, I’m only going to Rivet City to pick up my friend.”

“Alright honey, be safe,” her father, an older man with grey hair and a thin, tired face, handed his daughter her satchel. 

“I will, Dad,” Eins kissed her father on the cheek and headed out the doors. 

~~~

Pattering through the marketplace, Eins made her way to the upper deck towards the clinic. She had left Charon there to go find her father. Tranquility lane was… terrifying to say the least. She had made a kid cry and ruined a marriage before figuring out she could end the suffering of those poor souls through the fail safe. 

Shaking these thoughts from her head, Eins pushed open the clinic door. She was greeted with a rather disgruntled Dr. Preston. “Oh thank God you’re back, I can go on break now.” He pushed a clipboard into Eins’s hands and skedaddled the fuck on outta there. Looking down at the clipboard she saw it was Charon’s medical record. 

Patient name: Acheron Charon 

Date Of Birth: 05/12/2153

Record #: 204

Injury: Gunshot wound to abdomen

Eins stopped reading. She didn’t need to know. Approaching the bed, she looked at Charon. He was asleep, chest rising and falling slowly. His hair (or what was left of it) was messy. Eins thought of the kiss. She hadn't expected it. Or any form of affection at all. 

However it had planted a seed in her mind. Charon liked her enough to kiss her, albeit he was delirious and bleeding out, but if he could do it once he could do it again. Eins had nothing against ghouls, she saw them as people, though they were rotting alive, and she’d be down to be with one. Eins hadn’t been with anyone since she left the vault. Her boyfriend at the time had been Paul Hannon Jr, and she hadn't seen him (or anyone else from the vault) for the past four months and she was getting lonely. “I guess that’s why they call me the lone wanderer” she mumbled to herself. 

~~~

Charon woke up late at night. Or was it early in the morning? He didn’t know anymore. Seeing an unfamiliar shape slumped in a chair near him sparked fear into his chest and he groped for his shotgun in the dark. In his panic he didn’t notice the form get up and turn on the light. Squinting up, Charon saw Eins and he relaxed. “Did I scare you,” she asked. 

Charon grunted and lay back in bed. “How was the trip?”

“To find my father?”

“Yes”

“It was… creepy. There was this virtual reality world and a creepy little girl who was actually an angry german man who wanted me to kill people and then I caused a chinese communist invasion and found out that my dad was a dog. Also I got a really bad sunburn on the way there.” Eins explained.

Charon had no idea what any of that meant so he just deliriously nodded. “Maybe you should get a hat.”

“And sunglasses. The sun hurts my eyes.” Eins rubbed her left eye to punctuate. “Anyway do you feel ready enough to get up?” 

“Let me see,” Charon tossed his legs over the side of the bed and groaned. “Fuck….Yeah, I’m fine,” he stood up slowly.

“Are you sure? Alright, let's get you into a real bed.” Eins dropped a small bag of caps on the doctor’s desk before heading out the door, grasping Charon’s arm. He followed after he located his bag and the two made their way to the hotel room. Closing the door behind her, Eins yawned and stripped off her jacket. She wasn’t wearing any armor so she could fall straight onto the soft bed. Beckoning Charon into bed with her, Eins burrowed under the covers.

When she felt the weight of her companion on the bed, Eins wiggled in close to him. Charon grunted in surprise but Eins brushed it off, saying she was cold. After a moment’s hesitation, Charon enveloped her in his arms, easily dwarfing her. She smiled to herself and turned off the light to go to sleep.

~~~

Charon woke up first. He was on his back, with Eins lying on his chest. She was breathing heavily. Charon admired her hair. It was sort of a dusty pink strawberry blonde. It was her natural hair color, he could tell from her roots. His abdomen throbbed a reminder of the wounds he had. Charon lay stiffly until Eins stirred. She yawned and opened her eyes. When she realised she was laying on Charon, she jumped off and apologized profusely. 

“Uh, how did you sleep?” She asked.

“Alright. You?”

“It was alright. I need to go back to my Dad, will you come with me?”

“As you wish.”


	6. The Enclave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 👊😔

“Dad? You there?” Eins opened up the control room door. 

“Yes, honey, I’m over here,” She heard him call from behind one of the servers. “What do-” He stopped short as he caught sight of Charon. “Oh. Who… who’s this?” 

“Dad, this is Charon, my… companion. Charon, this is my Dad.” Charon nodded at James’s shocked expression. 

“Honey, could I talk to you?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the ghoul. 

“Sure, whats up?”

“Alone?”

“Uh alright. Charon, do you think you could wait outside real quick?” Charon grunted and turned to leave. 

As he left the room he heard snippets of the hushed conversation. The words “...ghouls…” and “...unclean…” rang around his head until he was out of earshot. Charon walked to the hallway and dug a pack of cigarettes out of his pack. He lit one and chewed on the end as he thought. It figures that her father would have something against ghouls. Most vault assholes did. Most people in general, actually. He wondered why Eins called him her companion instead of a bodyguard. He wasn’t a companion, he was only here for combat purposes. Or maybe to be a pack brahmin. 

The ash on the end of his cigarette got too long and fell to the floor. Maybe Eins called him her companion because she felt like he WAS her companion. Someone to travel with. He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Eins calling his name. “Charon?” He stepped back into the room to meet a rather tired looking Eins. “I need to go unblock a pipe. Wanna join me?”

Charon grunted and stubbed out his cigarette, dropping it on the floor to follow Eins towards the intake pipe. The two climbed down the slimy tube, hopping down from platform to platform. “Careful, I don't want you to reopen the wound in your gut.” Eins seemed awfully worried about his well being. More so than usual, anyway. Charon had no time to ponder it as the two reached the valve. Eins grabbed and twisted it to the left. 

As if it triggered an event, the sound of vertibirds echoed through the pipe and an intercom above them muttered to life. “Everyone, it seems we have some visitors, I don’t know who they are or what they want.” The voice of Einscwrws’s father reverberated. “Please, remain in your assigned areas while we get this sor- the Enclave? What are they doing here? They’re where? Madison, lock that door!” Uncertainty filled Charon’s chest as Eins flung herself against the locked grate they had emerged from moments prior. 

“Eins, we need to go forwards.” Charon grabbed his employer, still frantically clawing against the bars. She allowed herself to be pulled through a northern grate back into the memorial. Finding her footing, Eins raced ahead through the sift pump. The two ran till they reached a grate to the sub-basement. Charon grabbed the back of Eins’s shirt and pulled her down. An armored man with a laser rifle was patrolling the halls. Raising his shotgun, Charon took him out. 

The gunshot alerted another soldier and Charon turned his attention to the man, before Eins had shot him three times with her assault rifle. The two jumped down from the pipe and raced up stairs, killing a third soldier on the way. Dodging fire, Eins barreled into the control room and slammed into Madison Li who took no notice. “Dr. Li what’s-” Eins stopped short as she saw the scene in front of her. 

James had sealed the door to the rotunda and was speaking to a man in a long beige coat. “By the authority of the president, this facility is now under United States governmental control.” The man drawled. “The person in charge is to step forward immediately and turn over all materials related to this project.”

“That’s quite impossible,” James snapped. “This is a private project, the Enclave has no authority here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave at once.” 

“Am I to assume, sir, that you’re in charge?” 

“Yes. I am responsible for this project.”

“Then I repeat, sir, that you are hereby instructed to immediately hand over all materials related to the purifier.”

“I’m sorry, but thats-”

“Furthermore” the man interrupted “You are to assist Enclave scientists in assuming control of the administration and operation of this facility at once.”

“Colonel… is it Colonel? I'm sorry, but the facility is not operational. It never has been. I'm afraid you're wasting your time here.”

“Sir, this is the last time I am going to repeat myself. Stand down at once, and turn over control of this facility.” 

“Colonel, I assure you that this facility will not function. We have never been able to successfully replicate test results-” Before James could finish, the colonel pulled out a gun and shot one of the scientists in the head. She fell over instantly and Dr. Li screamed. Eins was yelling something. Her father looked shocked.

“I suggest you comply immediately, sir, in order to prevent any more incidents. Are we clear?” 

“Yes, Colonel. I'll do whatever you want; there's no need for more violence.”

“Then you will immediately hand over all materials related to this project, and aid us in making it operational at once.”

“Very well. Give me a few moments to bring the system online.” James turned around to the console behind him but Charon detected deceit in his voice. James was planning something. 

A loud blast interrupted his thinking and the men in the rotunda jolted. The familiar warmth of radiation seeped into Charon’s skin and he was filled with panic. Eins’s father murmured something to her, but it was lost in her screams. “Einscwrw, we need to get out of here.” Charon grabbed Eins’s forearm as her screams turned to roars and growls. She clawed at the door but Charon pulled her back. “Einscwrw!”

He turned towards Dr. Li. She looked like she had been struck in the stomach. “James… he’s gone…” Quickly regaining her composure, she turned towards Eins. “We have to get out of here!” 

“I’m not leaving!” Eins struggled to free herself from Charon’s grip before Dr. Li smacked her across the face.

“They’ll be coming for us next! We have to evacuate!” Dr. Li turned towards Charon “There’s an old abandoned tunnel we used as an escape route once before. Everyone should know how to find it.” Charon hoisted the now silent Eins to her feet and made after the doctor. The trio stumbled through the halls towards another sewer grate. Climbing down, they were met with two men in workmen's outfits and another scientist.

“None of us have much combat experience, we’ll need your help.” Dr. Li faced a silent Eins. She showed no response. “Einscwrw” Li tried again.

“I’ll go ahead and come back for you when the section is clear.” Charon interrupted. The doctor looked at him and nodded. 

Many dead ferals, enclave soldiers, and one heart attack later, the group had struggled their way to the gates of the citadel, the main brotherhood outpost in the capital wasteland. The problem was finding a way inside.


	7. The Citadel

“Lyons, I know you’re in there, open this Goddamn door right now!” Dr. Li yelled into the intercom. 

“Ma’am-” Paladin Bael started before being cut off by the large metal gate behind him screeching open. The doctor strode past him and directly to the inner door. Charon tugged Eins along behind him, following the woman. He could only picture what they must look like to the brotherhood right now. A pissed off middle aged lady leading a group consisting of two handymen, a scientist, and a six foot five ghoul dragging a half conscious woman with death in her eyes and blood splattered across her face. 

Entering the courtyard, Dr. Li was approached by an old man in robes with fear etched across his face. They spoke but Charon wasn’t listening. He was peering around the Citadel. There had always been rumors of what it could be like, as nobody but brotherhood members were allowed access. The real thing, however, did not do the stories justice. 

He was returned to reality by Eins shrugging off his arm and trudging off in some unknown direction. Charon followed and found that she headed towards some barracks. She toppled down on the first bed she found and buried herself under the covers, leaving Charon with no idea what he should be doing. Instead of standing around looking stupid, he sat down against the side of the cot and began to clean his shotgun.

~~~

“Hey,” a hand settled on Eins’s blanketed shoulder, rousing her from sleep. She peered up at the stranger to find Sarah Lyons. “I heard what happened. Are you alright?” Eins said nothing, only peered up at the woman. This sudden burst of sympathy from someone who had previously been annoyed by her was strange. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but you should get up and do something. You’ve been in that cot for two days.”

Eins furrowed her eyebrows. It had only felt like a couple hours. She sat up and looked around. Charon was seated by her bed, head resting on his chest. He appeared to be asleep with an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Sarah spoke again. “What do you say we teach you how to use power armor and you can come and join us on a recon mission?” Eins nodded dumbly and swung her feet out of bed. She paused for a moment and gestured at Charon, looking at Sarah with dead eyes. “Should we leave him a note?” Eins nodded. “I’ll let him know where we’re going, for now, you should go talk to Paladin Gunny. He’s over there,” Sarah gestured to a man yelling at some initiates. Eins nodded again and walked off.

~~~

Charon woke up with a note in his lap. “I took Eins out for some recon with some of the other knights. We’ll be back shortly. -Sarah”  
He groaned and stiffly rose to his feet, grabbing the shotgun. Sitting in one spot for a day and a half did nothing to help his joints. Might as well do something. Charon looked around, eyes landing on a rifle range. He shouldered his shotgun and walked towards it. Practice would be nice and showing these Brotherhood assholes how it’s done would be even nicer.

~~~

“On your right!” Sarah shouted over the din as Eins dove out of the way, nearly avoiding a car being thrown towards her by an explosion. The group consisting of Sarah, Eins, Gallows, and three other knights was currently engaged in a three way battle between themselves, super mutants, and Enclave soldiers. 

The super mutants were throwing anything they could get their hands on. Various cars, rubble, and other super mutants went flying towards the soldiers. The Enclave turned anything that went towards them to ash while the Brotherhood dodged and focused their fire on the brutes. Well, most of the Brotherhood was focused on the mutants. Einscwrw had zoned in on Enclave troopers and was mercilessly hammering away at them. The officer went first, wearing his stupid cloth jacket. No armor. Easy target. 

Eins drew the attention of one of the soldiers right as a rotting i-beam hit him square in the chest, puncturing his armor and pinning him to the ground. Another flying piece of rubble nearly hit her before Gallows tackled her to the ground. “Get your head back on your shoulders,” he bellowed and jumped back up into combat. Eins did not follow with as much enthusiasm, instead she slowly got back on her knees and raised her assault rifle. Three bullets into one mutant and he was down. Three bullets into another’s skull and three into a third. 

Eins sat there, picking off the mutants with three bullets each until they were all dead. Now it was between them and the Enclave. Casting aside her assault rifle, Eins ripped out her combat knife. “What in the world are you doing,” Sarah yelled. Eins ran straight at the two remaining soldiers, ignoring the laser fire directed at her chest. It burned, but that was unimportant. The only thing on her mind was that these bastards took her father. Her father who she had spent so long trying to find. She had him for less than a week, before he was taken away again. Now she had no one. No mother, no sisters, no brothers, and now no father. These thoughts drove her knife straight into the eyepiece of the first soldier and under the helmet of the second, slitting his throat. The men lay dead and dying in the field. 

The Brotherhood had lost a soldier in this fight, but the Enclave lost five. Eins stood amongst the bodies, peering at the carnage. Somewhere behind her, a car exploded and her fellow knights were yelling. She kneeled down next to the dying officer she had shot so long ago and picked up his hat from where it lay on the floor. “I will kill every last one of you” she whispered, voice ragged from disuse. 

Placing the hat on her head, Eins turned around and rejoined her group of soldiers. 

~~~

They arrived back at the citadel a few hours later, one soldier lighter and hands significantly bloodier. After dislodging herself from the borrowed power armor, Eins looked around for Charon. He was standing at the range, talking to an initiate. She walked up to him and tugged on his sleeve. He looked down at her “You return.” Eins nodded and tugged at his sleeve again. “Do you want me to follow you?” She nodded again.

Charon followed Eins wordlessly as she trudged up the catwalks littering the walls of the citadel. They climbed until Eins stopped at a rather secluded area and sank down against the wall. Charon awkwardly sat next to her. She said nothing, just buried her head in her arms and started to cry. Short sobbs turned to angry wails. He sat there, with no idea what to do. How do you comfort a woman? No man really knew. He settled for placing a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. To let her know he was there. Eins fell against him and gripped around his middle, clinging to him in a hug. 

The two lay like that for what felt like hours until Eins finally unlatched herself from her companion. “I found a hat,” she mumbled. Charon looked at her silently. “Remember when we were in Rivet City? I just got back from vault 112 all sunburnt.” Charon did remember, he remembered suggesting she get herself a hat to protect from the sun. 

Eins picked up an Enclave officer cap and showed it to him. He turned it over in his hands. “This is Enclave,” he grunted. 

Eins nodded “I got it off a corpse. The first one I killed outside the purifier.”

The two sat in silence for a while. 

Charon groped for his cigarettes and lit one, chewing on the end. “Can I try one of those,” Eins asked.

“You sure?” he grunted.

Eins nodded and he handed her one, lighting it for her. She inhaled and coughed shakily before inhaling again. They sat there, smoking, until the sun went down.

~~~

“So we need to find a GECK,” Scribe Rothchild echoed Eins’s instructions. “I suppose you should check the Vault archives in the A ring. Here’s the password, try not to break anything,” Eins scoffed as Rothchild turned and strode back to whatever sciency mumbo jumbo he was working on. 

Eins led Charon through the maze of the citadel’s hallways, asking directions when needed. The two eventually arrived in the library and Eins sat down at the terminal. She scrolled through it for a bit and then spoke up “Apparently Vault 87 has a GECK,”

“I’ve heard of that place. It’s no good,” Charon growled.

“We don’t really have another option. Let’s ask Rothchild where it is, then we can head over there in a couple days. I’m not ready to leave yet,” she sighed.

“Alright, so how about we leave in three days?”

“Sound good to me”


	8. The B ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! First smut chapter!

“There are some empty cots in the den you two can crash on,” Sarah said, pointing in the general direction.

“Which ones?” Eins asked. She didn’t want to take someone else’s bed.

“You’ll know. Vargas keeps his magazines on his bed, Colvin has his Bible on his nightstand, Kodiac has a teddy bear that he thinks we don't know about. Everyone’s kinda personalized their living space,” the sentinel offered nonchalantly before walking off towards the mess hall. Eins and Charon looked at each other before following her to get some dinner.

“What do you want?” She asked him as they waited in line for food.

“I dont care,” he grunted

“Do you have a preference?”

“Whatever’s cheapest.”

Eins frowned. “You know I have plenty of caps, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You can get whatever you want.”

“I dont care what I eat.” Charon grumbled again. Eins gave up trying to talk any sense into him. The man was stubborn as a mule. Reaching the front of the line, she ordered iguana stew (knowing full well that iguanas went extinct some time ago), some cornbread, and a nuka cola. Her companion simply got a mole rat steak. 

They sat down to eat at the table where a few of the Lyons pride members were sitting. They were dressed in casual clothing and Charon studied their faces. There was the Sentinel, he knew what she looked like, and a couple knights he didn’t recognize. Most were wearing various merc outfits. Fitting. 

Eins was speaking to a man with dark skin and a low voice wearing a troublemaker outfit. A plate of nuka basted brahmin steak and a water sat in front of him. He was listening half-heartedly to a story she was telling. 

“...and so Burke shot Mr. Simms but only hit his shoulder and was gunned down by onlookers before he could take another shot.” Eins explained.

“What caliber,” The man asked.

“Suppressed 10mm.”

“Lucky he was only hit in the shoulder then”

“Yeah it was. So when you say you do spec-ops do you mean stealth?”

“Have you ever tried sneaking up on a man while wearing full power armor?”

“Oh, no I haven't, um. I guess you aren't stealth then.”

The man laughed. “I’m messing with you. I use recon armor when I’m on stealth missions.”

“Oh,” Eins blushed and looked down at her stew. She and Charon both didn’t speak for the remainder of the meal. 

On the way out of the mess hall she spoke again. “That was Knight Captain Gallows, he was part of the group I went out with earlier.” 

Charon Grunted.

“He saved my life earlier. At least I think he did, not sure if I would’ve died.”

Charon Grunted again.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just have nothing to say about the topic.”

“Oh, alright.”

The two didn’t talk for the rest of the night. 

~~~

“Hey, Gallows.” 

Gallows looked up. Knight Captain Dusk was standing in front of where he sat, in the A ring meeting room. She was holding a coffee. “Yes?” The man asked.

“You seem to really cozy up to that new kid. James’s kid,” Dusk smirked.

“She’s friendly. Unlike you.”

“Oh yeah… soft too. Pretty fluffy. A real cupcake.”

“Get to the point.”

“You’re looking for some stress relief, I can tell. And you’re tired of all the bone thin women the wasteland has spat at you.”

Gallows said nothing.

“Need a tip?”

“No.”

“She’s also looking for some fun. I can see it in her eyes. She has very telling eyes.”

Gallows said nothing.

“She holds herself pretty partial to you. Might wanna make a move before that damn ghoul of hers beats you to the punch.” Dusk smirked and sauntered off, leaving Gallows alone in the room. 

~~~

Eins liked exploring. Back in the vault everything was the same. Everything was static with the one exception of time. Everyone got up when the bell went off. Everyone ate in the cafeteria at the designated time. Everyone was in bed before curfew. (Well... most of the time. Once she, Paul, and Amata snuck out to the generator room with a bottle of whiskey. Shenanigans ensued.) 

Eins crept along the halls, exploring. She would peer in every door she passed, once accidentally catching an initiate having some fun. She blushed and moved on, closing the door quietly.

“You look like you're up to no good.” Eins jumped at the voice behind her. She wheeled around and found herself face to face with Gallows. He was out of uniform just like he was in the mess hall. He was also tall. Eins found herself eye level with his chest (but she’s short so that isn't saying much). 

“Oh! Sorry, I was just- I was just exploring…” she laughed awkwardly. Gallows said nothing. He knew that keeping quiet is a good way to encourage others to talk. “I like exploring and I was bored, so I was gonna go see what I could find. You know, cause I can't do what I normally do here.”

“What do you normally like to do when you’re bored,” he asked. 

Eins blushed. She had backed herself into quite the corner, and lying wasn’t exactly her strong point.

“Ah, I see. Want a hand?” Gallows offered nonchalantly, as if he were commenting on the weather like he didn’t just proposition her.

“I… I dont- I’m not- I didn’t-” she stuttered, unsure how to answer his forwardness. “I… um… only if you want.” Her ears burned.

Instead of responding, Gallows looked around and upon seeing nobody, swiftly pushed Eins into a nearby storage closet. 

He shut and locked the door, allowing her to look around. There were mechanical parts and tool boxes scattered around on tall metal shelving units. It was snug, maybe 7 by 3 feet. Her thoughts were interrupted by a hungry kiss. Good lord FINALLY. It’d been so long since Eins had been with anyone. Too long, if you had to ask. Gallows’s hands trailed down her body, landing at her hips. She tugged at his shirt and he broke the kiss to shuck it off. Eins did the same with her jacket and began to take off her tank top but was distracted. Gallows was fucking RIPPED. She knew people could get abs like that, but she had never seen anyone like that in person. Electricity shot down her bones, landing in between her thighs. Somewhere during her paralyzation, Gallows got bored of waiting and took matters into his own hands, tearing off her shirt. Eins gasped and the two met again for another hungry kiss. 

Gallows’s tongue trailed down her jaw, leaving goosebumps in its wake. He sucked a bruise under her collarbone, low enough that the average shirt would cover it but still a telling mark. Eins dragged her nails down his back, landing them at the seat of his pants. Gallows got the memo and shifted his attention to getting her out of her pants. She helped, throwing them aside with the rest of the clothing. His hands left her body and he hesitated, hands on his own pants.

“Shy?” Eins teased. 

He rolled his eyes. “It’s been a while, okay?”

“I won’t judge, I promise,” she grinned, eager to scratch the itch that’s been growing since she left the vault. Trying to coax the man, she reached behind her and took off her bra.

Gallows growled and took himself out. Eins watched hungrily as he stroked himself a couple times. He groaned, and damn if that didn’t send sparks up her spine. Gallows hoisted Eins onto a table and hitched one of her legs over his shoulder and he was finally there. Eins moaned and Gallows covered her mouth with his hand. “We don’t want to get caught,” he whispered. Eins nodded. Anything to get this man to start moving. As if he heard her thoughts, Gallows started a steady pace inside of her. She whimpered, it felt good. Better than she remembered from her limited experience. He hit every spot, filling her. “Am I hurting you,” Gallows asked.

“God no…” Eins whispered. This seemed to spur him on and he set a deeper pace, breath hitching. She soon felt the familiar heat coiling in her stomach and lifted her hips in line with Gallows’s thrusts, coaxing the orgasm out of her, like it was a stray cat. The cat crept closer and finally sprang, waves engulfing her in pleasure. Eins felt Gallows pull out and felt a warm sticky sensation on her thigh. At least he remembered to pull out. She hadn’t even thought of that. 

“I hope no one heard,” Gallows was already putting himself back together. He nodded at Eins. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Hold on, you’re just gonna leave?” Eins asked.

“Yes. I have work to do.” Gallows zipped up his jacket and crept out of the closet, closing it to give her some privacy. Hell with privacy, Eins felt used. Work to do, yeah right. All he does is sit around in the A ring waiting for the occasional meeting to start. Tears pricked her eyes and she felt her ears burn again. He has work to do. Well, so does she.


	9. The Mess Hall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get out! I got stuck halfway through :,)

Charon lay on the bunk the Sentinel had directed him to, arm slung over his eyes. He heard the door open and footsteps echoed on the ground. He raised his arm to see who it was. Just Eins, though she looked… upset. Like she wanted to cry but was too stubborn to let herself do so. He didn’t blame her. The death of family is hard. He would give her space unless she asked otherwise. 

“Have you been here all day,” Eins asked.

“No”

“Where did you go?” 

“Walked around. Ate some food. Talked to some of the knights.”

“That’s good. I like seeing you do things you want to.”

“You hadn’t given me any prior orders.”

“Why would I? I don’t care what you do, as long as its not harming me or any allies.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, do what you want. Smoke, get drunk, fuck a random girl and leave straight after. Whatever floats your boat.” She started to undress for bed and Charon covered his eyes again. He’d probably never get used to her willingness to display herself. “Who’d you talk to,” she continued.

“Uh, Dusk, I think. And Kodiak.” Charon replied, not lifting his arm.

“Did you talk with Gallows?”

“No, why do you ask?” 

Eins said nothing. He raised his arm a bit and saw her sitting on her cot, dressed for bed and staring at the floor. She saw him looking and shrugged. “No reason.”

Charon moved his arm from over his eyes since the vault dweller was dressed again. He never understood why some people had special sleeping clothes. It was impractical. Pants were pants and a shirt was a shirt. He had no trouble sleeping in jeans or even boots. Not in armor though, that was a bit much unless you were in the middle of the wastes.

His thoughts were interrupted again by Eins. She was shuffling around the small room wearing a tank top. Nothing out of the ordinary, but there was a bruise on her neck. Charon sat up, “What happened?” He reached for his boots on instinct. If she had been hit or strangled, he’d have to make sure whoever did it would never be a threat again. 

Eins seemed to startle and she looked at him, “What?”

“Your neck, what happened?”

Her eyes widened and her hand reached up to her collarbone. She grinned, an unconvincing smile but one nonetheless. “Nothing,”

“A bruise like that doesn’t just happen.”

“I said it was nothing.”

Charon narrowed his eyes, “Are you hurt?”

“No!” Eins snapped, “Well, yes, but- FUCK! Why do you care anyway?” Charon was taken back by the sudden outburst. He was quiet for a bit, trying to figure what he said wrong. 

“You are my employer, it’s my job to make sure of your wellbeing,” he said slowly.

Eins sighed and sat down on the bed. “Yeah, right, sorry. Forgot.”

“You forgot you were my employer?”

“Yeah, basically. Forgot you really don’t give a shit unless its about whatever the contract tells you. The stupid paper is too worn to read anyway.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? That that bruise really is nothing?” 

“Yeah, sure,” she waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m tired, can we go to bed?”

“Whatever you wish.” Charon reached over to the light switch and flicked it off. The room was silent. Cold, but comfortable. As he fell asleep he thought he heard the sound of someone crying. 

~~~

He had that dream again. The one with the lake and the woman and the bobblehead. He reached for the bobblehead. It taunted him, angered him. But made him feel sad as well. Like something had happened and he didn’t know what, but also that he’d find out later. The water turned black. The ink from the book seeped through the current like an infection. Charon jerked awake. That kind of jerk where you wake up feeling like you just fell. The room was dark, Eins was asleep in the other bed. Charon closed his eyes and tried to forget the dream that kept haunting him.

~~~

The next morning was quiet. Charon didn’t talk and Eins didn’t initiate conversation. The two silently walked towards the mess hall for breakfast. Standing in line, Charon felt Eins stiffen next to him, and he soon knew why. Gallows and Dusk were at a table not far from them on the opposite side of Eins. They were talking, quietly but loud enough for him to overhear. “So you just left her? You fucked her and left,” Dusk sounded appalled.

“What was I supposed to do?” Gallows retorted

“Not fucking that! Stay with her while she gets dressed at least! The poor thing is still a kid, she hasn’t been in a situation like that before!”

“How the hell was I supposed to know?”

“Maybe by taking off that damn helmet once in a while because it seems to be clouding your ears!”

The pieces fell in place. Charon wasn’t smart, but he was preceptive. The bruise, the outburst, the offhanded comments. Everything made sense. He glanced down at Eins who had crept in on herself, making her smaller than she already was. Charon looked back at Gallows who caught his eye and froze in the middle of whatever Dusk was saying. Charon narrowed his eyes and shifted his weight, a subtle gesture, but one that provided some insight on his mindset. Gallows threw back his shoulders and glared back in a silent “what are you gonna do about it?” It was his territory. Both men knew it. Charon was a guest, and an unwelcome one at that. He growled and turned back towards the front of the line. 

Both Eins and Charon got the same food, some oatmeal with brahmin milk and mutfruit. Eins took her food and mumbled something about eating back at the room before rushing off. After a moment, Charon followed with his bowl, though not as fast. As he walked towards the door, someone bumped into him, nearly making him drop his food. Charon wheeled around to find himself staring at Gallows. His expression was unreadable but his eyes were clearly unfriendly. “Watch yourself, ghoul. If we were out in the wastes, I’d’ve put you down already.”

“Gallows. Just who I wanted to talk to. Mind coming with me?” Charon growled.

“Why would I?”

“Because if you don’t, I just might do something we’d both regret.” Both men stared at each other silently before Gallows turned and gestured for Charon to lead the way. He followed to the meeting room, a place where Charon knew people didn’t pass through frequently. He set his bowl down on the table and turned towards Gallows, who stared back.

Both men locked in a quiet staring contest, both too stubborn to speak. Neither moved. Neither made a sound. Both communicated exclusively with body language. Shifting weight and crossed arms, glaring each other down. Silently, time passed. A bell sounded and Gallows turned his head up and to the side. It was time for him to go. When Charon didn’t move nor speak, he turned his back and started off. Charon reached out and grabbed Gallows’ upper arm. Tightly. “I don’t want to see her hurt again, do you understand?” He growled.

Gallows sneered and pulled his arm back. He left without a word, but both men knew exactly what happened and what the other had meant. It was a wordless fight, an angry man in the comfort of his home against a loyal soul with pent up rage from a past that hadn’t let him go. Neither attacked. It wouldn’t end well for either. Gallows would be beaten, but soon after, the whole Brotherhood would have their sights on Charon. No, the best course of action was to stay quiet. 

He walked back to Eins, dumping his now cold oatmeal on the way. He opened the door, startling Eins who was quick to hide something in her bag. She turned to him, “I wondered why you didn’t follow.”

“I had to deal with something,” Charon retorted. Eins looked down. “Are you hurt?”

She drew her eyebrows together “No, why?”

“You have blood on the corner of your mouth.”

“Oh!” She wiped at it with her arm, “I bit my tongue.” Charon hummed and layed down on his cot. He knew Eins would want to move out soon and wanted to get as much rest on a real bed as he could.


End file.
